The Cascades

So long Central Oregon. So long Bend, Mt. Hood, and Smith Rocks. Not only were we in a great part of the country, but we got to spend a week with family, good friends, and fellow Traveling Trainers, Emily and JD. Hwy 139 took us from Reno to the Lava Beds National Monument to explore the lava tubes and the sites of the Modoc War. Highway 97 took us through Oregon with a brief stop at snowy Crater Lake National Park, and then to sunny Bend, OR. In Bend, we visited Ms. Moore’s environmental awareness class at Pilot Butte Middle School. Then it was off to the Zigzag Ranger Station in northern Oregon for a workshop with the Mt. Hood Wilderness Stewards. It was a fun, hot afternoon as we discussed Leave No Trace, did some good activities like “flag feces” and “watch your step,” and practiced the Authority of the Resource Technique. Thanks to Georgia Bosse, the Oregon State Advocate, for teaching the group about Minimizing Camp Fire Impacts, and to Mary Ellen Fitzgerald for inviting us to spend the afternoon with the Wilderness Stewards. We spent the next couple days climbing and hiking in Smith Rocks State Park, the sport climbing capital of the country and now we're on our way to Moab for the Desert Rocks Music Festival.

From Trees to Desert,
Tanya and Cody